The “Weak” Top Student

Shi Sui stared at the blue thermos in his hand, unable to snap out of it for a long time.

Watching Shi Sui’s “questioning his life” expression, Wang Cheng was the first to lose it. “Hahahaha…”

Shi Sui maintained his cool, stony expression as he raised his hand to screw the cap back on, then somewhat roughly shoved it back into Lu Huaizhi’s hands.

No wonder there was only half a cup left when he drank it.

Lu Huaizhi handed him the other one. “This one is yours.”

Shi Sui took it with a wooden face and stuffed it into his backpack. “I’m going down to run for a bit.”

Seeing how stiff Shi Sui’s steps were, Wang Cheng laughed so hard he couldn’t straighten his back. “Top Student, you really are his natural nemesis.”

Since Lu Huaizhi became Shi Sui’s desk mate, Shi Sui’s emotions seemed to have become much richer. He wasn’t like before—ignoring everything except his grandmother and getting into fights every other day.

Lu Huaizhi didn’t respond to Wang Cheng; his gaze remained fixed on Shi Sui as he merged into the crowd.

Even though he was sick, Shi Sui ran faster than the others. Many people moved aside to give him space.

Wang Cheng muttered, “This kid… once he’s down there, he’s like a human insulator.”

Shi Sui ran freely, the wind blowing the hair off his forehead to reveal his handsome face, drawing sideways glances from the girls nearby.

“My ‘Dad’ is so cool, even just running brings out girls to peek,” Wang Cheng said. “But none of them dare to approach him. It’s not like Shi Sui eats people.”

Lu Huaizhi looked at those students. Most were simply admiring from afar, stealing a glance before looking away.

However, the “vacuum zone” around Shi Sui was very noticeable.

Lu Huaizhi asked, “Is everyone afraid of Shi Sui?” He hadn’t seen it be this exaggerated on a normal day.

“It’s not exactly fear,” Wang Cheng scratched his head. “You just transferred so you don’t know. Last year, our school held a joint sports meet with No. 3 High. No. 1 High lost miserably.”

“Those No. 3 High guys might not study as well as us, but their athletic cells are hyper-developed. In our school, only the sports specialists can compete with them; the regular students all suffered crushing defeats.” Wang Cheng felt bitter just thinking about it. “You have no idea how nasty they talked.

“They called us weaklings who only know how to study.” Wang Cheng got angrier as he spoke. His grades weren’t even good! Wasn’t that just a roundabout way of calling him useless!

Lu Huaizhi surprisingly understood Wang Cheng’s train of thought and fell silent for a moment.

“But we didn’t lose too badly, thanks to an outlier.”

Wang Cheng nodded toward Shi Sui on the track. “In the events Shi Sui participated in, as long as he stood there, those No. 3 High trash didn’t dare say a word. They huddled together like quails.”

Lu Huaizhi: “Mm, that sounds like his style.” He could imagine the scene.

When it came to presence, Shi Sui didn’t lose to anyone.

“Right?” Wang Cheng got more excited. “Shi Sui ran the 3000 meters that time and beat a top athlete from No. 3 High. That guy was a sore loser. After the results were announced, he tried to pick a fight with Shi Sui. Shi Sui just gave him a shoulder throw—”

“Bam!” Wang Cheng gestured wildly. “He slammed the guy’s face into the ground. When they were finally pulled apart, that athlete’s face was full of pits from the gravel.”

Lu Huaizhi hadn’t known about this. He looked at Wang Cheng. “What happened after?”

“Everyone saw the No. 3 High guy started it, and since the meet was at No. 1 High, the teachers weren’t going to let Shi Sui—who just took first place—suffer for it. Shi Sui didn’t get in trouble at all; he just became famous.”

Wang Cheng chuckled. “I asked him later how he still had the strength to fight after running 3000 meters. Guess what he said?”

Lu Huaizhi: “Hm?”

“Reflex.” Wang Cheng clicked his tongue. “Those were his exact words. He was so cool it was annoying.”

“I guess everyone is counting on Shi Sui to crush No. 3 High again this year, so they’re giving him the lane to train. Such special treatment…”

While Wang Cheng was feeling envious, he heard Lu Huaizhi say tonelessly, “Being burdened with such high expectations isn’t a good thing.”

If Shi Sui eventually lost, people wouldn’t think he did his best; they would only complain that he didn’t do enough.

“Huh?” Wang Cheng didn’t quite get his meaning. He just thought Shi Sui looked very impressive this way.

Lu Huaizhi didn’t continue that topic, asking about something else instead. “Does he fight often?”

“You could say that. Shi Sui never refuses a challenge,” Wang Cheng said. “But he’s picked up too many demerits this semester, so he’s toned it down a lot.”

Whether he could keep that up, Wang Cheng couldn’t say. Shi Sui seemed to have an inexplicable passion for fighting.

Lu Huaizhi looked down at the test paper in his hand, silent for a moment.

Wang Cheng took a sip of water, instinctively scanning the track for Shi Sui. “F*ck, why is that kid still running? Isn’t he sick?”

Lu Huaizhi was about to head down when he heard Wang Cheng cry out again. “F*ck, is that Niu Ge?”

On the right side of the track, the Dean, Old Deng, was walking with a large group of people behind him. Among them was the person Wang Cheng feared—Niu Ge.

Old Deng had a professional fake smile on his face as he waved for the No. 3 High students to go down to the track while he chatted with several teachers on the bleachers.

“I see, they probably let No. 3 High come early to get familiar with the track. Why so early this year…”

Shi Sui had just had a conflict with Niu Ge recently, and he was still sick. If a fight broke out, Wang Cheng worried Shi Sui would come out on the bottom.

Wang Cheng was about to discuss an excuse with Lu Huaizhi to pull Shi Sui away, but when he turned around, the guy was gone.

Shi Sui was jogging with Chi Qing when he saw the group from No. 3 High brought in by the Dean.

Chi Qing ran on the outside of Shi Sui, trying to shield him, and lowered his voice. “Are they looking for you?”

Niu Ge had brought three lackeys. After reaching the track, they didn’t train; instead, they looked around, occasionally stopping No. 1 High students to ask questions.

Shi Sui gave a dismissive grunt, his pace never wavering. He clearly didn’t care about them.

Chi Qing felt helpless; he never expected Shi Sui to be afraid of anything.

Still, this was No. 1 High. No matter how much they acted out, they probably wouldn’t dare do much.

To Chi Qing’s surprise, they didn’t get trouble from Niu Ge first; instead, they were intercepted by a group of girls from No. 3 High.

“Are you Shi Sui?” A long-haired girl blocked Shi Sui’s path.

Shi Sui was forced to stop, his breath a bit heavy. “No.” He tried to sidestep them.

“Hey, don’t go!” The girl chased after him, checked a video on her phone, and said confidently, “It’s definitely you.”

She then looked at Chi Qing beside him. “But this one doesn’t really look like the guy who made the three-pointer.”

She tried to recall. “Right, where’s that new transfer student? Lu Huaizhi. Where is he? Shi Sui, why aren’t you with him?”

Shi Sui ignored her. Why should he always be with Lu Huaizhi?

The girl didn’t mind. She turned to Chi Qing and smiled. “Do you know where Lu Huaizhi is?” She was striking, and her smile was very pretty.

Chi Qing explained, “Lu Huaizhi is on the bleachers.”

Knowing Shi Sui was hard to talk to, the girl sensibly began chatting with Chi Qing. “I remember you. You were at that ball game. When are you guys playing again? Or are you all in the sports meet? We can come cheer for you.”

The other girls chimed in, “Lu Huaizhi plays so well, he must be good at sports. What events did he sign up for? we want to watch!”

Chi Qing was surrounded, and Shi Sui was pushed to the side.

Chi Qing smiled. “Lu Huaizhi isn’t in the sports meet. Wang Cheng is in a lot—he’s the one who uploaded the basketball video.”

“Huh? That’s such a pity.”

They were clearly uninterested in Wang Cheng and started asking about Lu Huaizhi’s height, weight, and even his zodiac sign.

“Height? About 1.87 meters? He’s half a head taller than Shi Sui.”

Shi Sui: “…”

“I don’t know his weight. I’ll take you to ask him yourself later.”

Hearing them talk about Lu Huaizhi over and over made Shi Sui incredibly irritated. He pulled Chi Qing out of the circle. “Don’t you know information needs to be kept secret before the sports meet?”

Chi Qing was surprised. “Lu Huaizhi’s height and weight are secrets?”

Shi Sui: “I’m talking about the events!” Chi Qing was even more puzzled. He hadn’t said anything!

Tao Lingwei was training on the track with her friends when she saw Shi Sui and Chi Qing surrounded by the No. 3 High girls.

“The people from No. 3 are too much, blocking people and hitting on them so openly.” Her friend, knowing Tao Lingwei liked Shi Sui, spoke up for her.

Tao Lingwei smiled. “It’s okay.” After Shi Sui rejected her, the crush born from being rescued had slowly faded.

However, Shi Sui and the others looked like they were in a difficult spot.

Shi Sui was indeed annoyed. These people were blocking the way; he couldn’t even walk.

Just then, Tao Lingwei’s voice came through. “Ah, sorry! I took too long to get the water.”

She squeezed through the crowd and handed two bottles of water to Shi Sui and Chi Qing with a look of relief. “Huh? Why aren’t you guys running?”

Tao Lingwei looked at the girls in the lane. “Sorry, Student Shi and his friends are training. You can find another empty spot to practice.”

Her tone was gentle, but she directly stated they were hindering No. 1 High students’ training. Seeing they wouldn’t get more answers, the girls left with regret.

Chi Qing thanked Tao Lingwei as he took the water. “That was a huge help.”

He felt like those girls would have dragged him to find Lu Huaizhi in the next second, and Shi Sui was clearly suppressing his temper. He’d been stuck in the middle.

Tao Lingwei waved it off. “It was nothing.”

She turned to leave but was startled to find Lu Huaizhi standing behind her.

Wang Cheng followed, breathing heavily. “Top Student, you walk too fast, I can’t keep up.” He’d almost caught up, but Lu Huaizhi had seen something midway and vanished in a flash.

Lu Huaizhi looked at the mineral water in Shi Sui’s hand and said tonelessly, “Sorry, I was a bit anxious.”

Shi Sui knew exactly what he was looking at. A question mark popped up in his head. Anxious about him taking water from another girl?

Wang Cheng assumed Lu Huaizhi was worried about Niu Ge and the others bullying Shi Sui. “I just saw those No. 3 High brats; they’re wandering around like headless flies…”

He was interrupted before he could finish.

“Shi Sui, you sure are hard to find!”

Wang Cheng turned around and came face-to-face with Niu Ge’s large face. The guy had brought three lackeys, and his smile was sinister.

Wang Cheng: “…” His big mouth.

Shi Sui didn’t give him a single look, turning to Chi Qing instead. “Still running?”

Chi Qing blinked, instinctively replying, “Running.” They had only practiced for a bit.

“Then let’s run.” Shi Sui was the first to take off.

When Niu Ge snapped out of it, his fake smile vanished instantly. He’d been ignored!

He touched the scar on his forehead that still left a mark, a trace of malice flashing in his eyes.

Wang Cheng soon sensed trouble. Niu Ge and his group chased after them, pretending to run, but having two lackeys separate him and Chi Qing.

By the time he realized it, Shi Sui and Lu Huaizhi had already run far ahead together.

Wait, Lu Huaizhi? How could he keep up with Shi Sui’s pace?

“Shi Sui!” Wang Cheng shouted at the top of his lungs.

But the track was crowded and noisy; his shout was quickly drowned out.

Shi Sui noticed the footsteps behind him were almost in sync with his own. Assuming it was Wang Cheng or Chi Qing, he turned his head and saw Lu Huaizhi’s face.

Further back were Niu Ge and one of his lackeys. Wang Cheng and Chi Qing were nowhere to be seen.

Niu Ge’s duo soon caught up to Shi Sui, flanking him from both sides.

“Shi Sui, you were pretty tough at the last meet. Why are you so slow now?” Niu Ge mocked. “Did you lose your touch after just one year?”

He bumped Shi Sui’s shoulder, then sped up to get in front of him, turning back to give Shi Sui the middle finger.

Shi Sui was expressionless. “Chen Erniu, it seems you weren’t beaten enough last time.”

Niu Ge’s real name was Chen Niu. He thought the name sounded bad, so he made everyone call him Niu Ge.

Only Shi Sui added fuel to the fire by calling him “Chen Erniu.”

“Shi Sui, what are you so arrogant about?” Chen Niu said. “All you have is brute force. If you’ve got guts, race me on the track.”

Chen Niu was the athlete Shi Sui had beaten in the 3000 meters last year. He had been mocked for an entire year and vowed to clear his shame this year.

If he couldn’t win, he’d make sure Shi Sui couldn’t compete.

Shi Sui gave him a fleeting look. With a sharp turn, he easily bypassed the lackey’s block, brushing past them and overtaking them in a cool maneuver.

Even if he was sick, it wasn’t Chen Niu’s turn to act up in front of him. The competitiveness of a young man was just that strong.

Chen Niu had already seen that Shi Sui looked pale. He intended to use the race to crush Shi Sui’s spirit. He didn’t expect the kid to run like the wind. He used all his strength just to make sure he wasn’t left behind.

Even more insulting was that Shi Sui was holding a bottle of water. Even with that posture, Chen Niu couldn’t outrun him.

If this were truly a long-distance race, he would definitely lose to Shi Sui just like last year.

Chen Niu gritted his teeth and pushed himself to catch up. When he was side-by-side, he suddenly stuck a leg out into Shi Sui’s path.

At this speed, if Shi Sui tripped on the rubber track, he would fly forward. With the friction on the ground, the injury would be severe—let alone competing in the sports meet.

Chen Niu had thought it through. After all, tripping while running fast was normal. As long as he was subtle, Shi Sui would have no proof.

But as soon as his leg went out, Shi Sui seemed to have anticipated it. He agilely lifted his foot and stepped right over the leg.

It was like clearing a hurdle—the posture was smooth and cool.

Chen Niu was stunned. Instead, he couldn’t react in time, and because of his awkward posture, he tumbled onto the ground himself.

Shi Sui stopped and caught his breath, looking at the fallen Chen Niu. “You’re such a loser.” His voice was hoarse, but the mockery in his tone wasn’t diminished in the slightest.

He knew Chen Niu was up to no good; how could he let himself be sabotaged?

Chen Niu’s face turned bright red. “Shi Sui, you f*cking…”

He cut off his curse halfway. He remembered very clearly that last time in Nan Alley, after he cursed at Shi Sui like that, Shi Sui’s face turned dark, and he slammed his head into a wall.

Chen Niu looked up. Sure enough, Shi Sui, who had been ignoring him, suddenly moved. He stepped onto the foot Chen Niu had just extended and looked down at him with icy eyes. “Say that again?”

A sharp, crushing pain came from his foot, but Chen Niu stubbornly kept quiet.

If he just held on for a little longer, the Dean from No. 1 High would notice Shi Sui’s behavior. He could take the chance to complain, saying Shi Sui tripped him and then tried to use violence to shut him up.

The commotion soon drew the attention of those around them.

When Wang Cheng and Chi Qing arrived, a small circle had already formed.

On the bleachers, the Dean also noticed the movement and kept looking over.

Wang Cheng’s heart was in his throat. Just as he was about to go with Chi Qing to drag Shi Sui away, he suddenly heard someone in the crowd call Shi Sui’s name. The voice was familiar, but before he could look, he saw Shi Sui frown, withdraw his foot from Chen Niu, and take a few steps forward.

“Can’t run but still pushing yourself?” Shi Sui’s tone still held the hostility from facing Chen Niu. However, as that person rested an arm on Shi Sui’s shoulder, that ferocity instantly turned into stiffness.

Shi Sui’s face was tense. “Take your hand off—”

“Sorry, I’m really too tired.”

Thus, Wang Cheng watched as Lu Huaizhi—who had previously been able to keep pace with Shi Sui—sounded incredibly weak. After Shi Sui pried his hand off, he leaned back against the boy as if he couldn’t support himself.

“Never seen anyone as frail as you.” Shi Sui supported Lu Huaizhi with a look of disgust.

The surrounding students slowly dispersed. Chen Niu was left sitting on the ground with a dazed face. No fight?

“Hey, Shi Sui, you—” He was about to say something harsh to provoke Shi Sui, but Wang Cheng suddenly covered his mouth, leaving him only able to make muffled grunts.

Shi Sui looked over coldly. Just as he was about to speak, the person leaning on his shoulder suddenly coughed and let out a heavy breath. “Want some water.”

“Don’t breathe on me.” Shi Sui pushed his head away in disgust.

Lu Huaizhi could only lean his cheek against Shi Sui’s shoulder. While coughing, his eyes were fixed on the mineral water Tao Lingwei had given Shi Sui. He repeated his request: “Cough, cough… want water…”

Shi Sui was annoyed by the coughing. He unscrewed the bottle and roughly shoved it into the other’s hand. “Shut up and stop coughing.”